Five detailed, fact-based comparisons against the VPNs privacy-conscious users most often weigh against hide.me.
Every VPN below makes a no-logs claim. What actually differs is jurisdiction, whether that claim has been through a named, repeatable third-party audit, and what a dropped connection actually does to your traffic. Each comparison below pulls those specifics apart instead of declaring one universal "winner."
Head-to-head comparisons, with our own measurements where we have them.
| Provider | Jurisdiction | No-logs audit | Kill switch |
|---|---|---|---|
| hide.me | Malaysia – outside the 5-Eyes, 9-Eyes and 14-Eyes intelligence-sharing alliances | Independently audited no-logs policy (Securitum, first audited 2015, re-audited yearly), a public transparency report published every year since 2013, and VPN Trust Initiative accreditation | Stealth Guard – a per-app kill switch that automatically cuts internet if the VPN drops, plus Multihop double-VPN routing and Dynamic Port Forwarding |
| Proton VPN | Switzerland | Open-source apps with an openly published, publicly downloadable no-logs audit | System-wide and per-app kill switch (Advanced Kill Switch) |
| Mullvad | Sweden – notably a member of the 14-Eyes alliance, unlike hide.me's Malaysia | Independently audited (Cure53, Assured AB) – and no account requires an email at all, just a randomly generated number | Always-on kill switch by default (not an optional toggle) |
| PrivadoVPN | Switzerland | AES-256 encryption and a published no-log policy, bundled with an ad blocker and antivirus | Kill switch included on desktop and mobile apps |
| CyberGhost | Romania (legally); owned by Kape Technologies, headquartered in the UK | No-logs policy the company says was audited by Deloitte, though the report isn't public – customers must request it directly | Kill switch included across apps |
| Windscribe | Canada – a Five Eyes member, unlike hide.me's Malaysia | Open-source apps and published transparency reports, but no named third-party no-logs audit as of our research | Firewall-based kill switch (“Secure Hotspot”) |
Short answers, based on our own captures and the data on this site.
Proton VPN had the highest nearest-European download, but it was tested on its Stealth protocol and its upload was far lower. See the league table; a single run cannot crown a winner.
Same line, same machine and a fresh baseline for each, but not the same server country or protocol. The table notes the differences.
They are the VPNs people most often consider alongside it. Where we have hands-on results for a rival, the comparison page shows them next to ours.
No. The session covered 11 VPNs; for any rival outside that set the comparison page says so and relies on public information only.
See current plans, prices and refund terms for the VPNs we recommend.